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There was an interesting programme on BBC Radio 4 this Monday on 5th Century wars, with a passing reference to Alexander. Three academics talk for half and hour, aided by Melvyn Bragg. You can listen online at:http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/ino ... shtmlLinda

HiThanks Linda. I caught the first ten minutes and then had to leave it.Chris

The programme would have been much better had:(1) there only been 1 academic - dealing with three of them, plus Mr Bragg himself, in only half an hour was a bit difficult(2) they cut out all the "um"s and "er"s and other hesitations, repetition, etc. (It was like a poor edition of "Just a Minute"!Having said that, it was quite a good programme :-)All the bestMarcus

I quite like the fact that it is unscripted, to some extent, as it shows that there is a difference of opinion between academics. ie it isn't just a lecture, but an informative exchange of opinions, when people have a different slant on the same topic. Melvyn does try to keep them on track and be the "common man", especially the first bloke, who spoke faster and faster, and still never got to Thermopolyae.

I think that was my biggest problem with the programme. My understanding was that they wanted to discuss whether Thermopylae was so crucial to the way Western civilization developed, yet they spent 20 mins of a half hour programme explaining the history (and in a rather haphazard way). If it had been an *hour* long programme it would have been a very different kettle of fish.I don't want people to think I didn't enjoy the programme, or find it interesting... just that if they'd had fewer academics, slightly more fluent speech, and twice as long, it would have been much better! :-)All the bestMarcus

It did feel like a chariot race. At the end, they had a quick fire "Did the Greeks winning this battle save democracy/civilisation - yes or no?" Answer: Yes!I expected more disagreement (if only to achieve a less Greco-centric view of the modern world. It just made me feel how much more there is to read and learn.. Definitely a longer show needed.

Indeed. That was my other 'gripe' (well, not really a gripe) - if you're going to have *three* experts on a show, you might as well get three who aren't going to agree completely with each other. You might as well just have the one.Oh, the decline in standards of intellectual discourse, eh? :-)Marcus